The Broncos led 73-60 with 3:40 to play before the Huskies forced three straight turnovers and went on an 11-1 run to cut the WMU lead down to three with 1:23 remaining. After an empty possession by the Broncos, NIU missed a wide open corner three-pointer to tie the game with 30 seconds left.
After back-to-back turnovers by NIU, senior Seth Dugan earned a trip to the line with 17 seconds to play and made one of two to give WMU a 76-71 advantage. On the ensuing possession, NIU’s Eugene German drove the length of the court and finished at the rim to cut the NIU deficit down to three with 11.4 remaining.
Leading by three, WMU missed both its free-throws to give NIU a chance with under 10 seconds to play. After grabbing the rebound, NIU’s German drove down the left side of the court and got off a three-pointer as time expired that bounced off the rim to seal a 76-74 victory for the Brown & Gold.
Dugan led the Broncos, registering his third straight double-double with 26 points and 11 rebounds. He was a staggering 8-of-11 from the field and 10-of-13 from the free-throw line. The Otsego, Mich., native earned his fifth double-double in the last six games and eighth 20-point performance.
Sophomore Michael Flowers scored in double figures for the fourth straight game with 14 points on 5-of-13 shooting from the field. Flowers knocked down two three-pointers to go along with four assists in 34 minutes played.
After missing three games due to injury, junior Jared Printy provided an offensive spark for the Broncos off the bench. Printy recorded 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field, with three coming from long distance. It was Printy’s first game scoring in double figures since Jan. 12 versus Toledo.
Sophomore Kawanise Wilkins filled the stat sheet against the Huskies with nine rebounds, two points, three assists, one block and one steal. Wilkins earned his second offensive rebound of the night with under a minute to play to give the Broncos an extra possession leading by three and forcing NIU to foul.
The freshman duo of Patrick Emilien and William Boyer-Richard both played 28 minutes and combined for 17 points and six rebounds with Boyer-Richard recording three three-pointers.
As a team Western Michigan outrebounded Northern Illinois, 36-28 and dominated the offensive glass, 10-4. Both teams shot the ball well as WMU shot 50 percent from the field while NIU shot 50.9 percent. WMU forced NIU to commit 11 turnovers on the night, scoring 18 points off of turnovers.
The victory marks WMU’s first in conference play, improving its overall record to 7-17 and 1-10 in MAC play. With the win, WMU has now won 13 straight over NIU inside University Arena.
The Broncos led 8-5 at the 15-minute mark as both teams went on 5-0 runs during the first five minutes of play. Printy’s first three-pointer of the night highlighted a 7-2 run for the Broncos to gain a 15-8 advantage at the 13-minute mark. NIU countered with four straight field goals but still trailed 20-13 midway through the first half.
WMU jumped out to a double digit lead at the halfway point of the first half as Wilkins blocked an NIU lay-up that led to a fast break three-pointer by Printy to give the Brown & Gold a 23-13 advantage. The Broncos led by 13 going into the locker room, making four of their final five field goals. It was the first time since Jan.5 that WMU held a lead heading into halftime.
Northern Illinois fought back to begin the second half, rattling off three straight field goals to cut the Bronco lead down to seven. Both teams battled during the first 10 minutes of action in the second half as WMU held a 62-48 lead at the halfway point.
The Broncos led 73-60 with three minutes to play prior to NIU embarking on an 11-1 run to cut the lead down to three with 1:23 remaining. Dugan made one of two free-throws to give WMU a 76-71 lead with under 30 seconds to play before NIU’s German finished at the rim to trail by three with 11.4 remaining.
At the free-throw line with five seconds to play, Flowers missed both free-throws that gave NIU the opportunity to go the length of the court to tie the game. Corralling the rebound on the free-throw miss, German drove down the left side of the court and got off a shot that bounced off the rim as time expired to clinch the victory for the Broncos.
NIU had four players score in double figures, led by Eugene German with 29 points. NIU has now lost four straight contests and has an overall record of 12-13, 5-7 in MAC play.
(Courtesy of WMU Athletics)